A simulation study on the feasibility of valve spool stabilization under the influence of spool core elasticity

Description

t Spool valves suffer from friction between spool and sleeve when the spool is not radially stabilized in a central position but unstably moves outwards and touches the sleeve or housing. Circumferential grooves for pressure equalization are a classical remedy for the problem offering some relief but not a real solution for stabilizing the spool in the middle. The use of conical geometries offering a stabilizing mechanism has been suggested repeatedly in the fluid power literature and a few very elegant solutions for generating these geometries solely from pressure induced elastic deformations of initially cylindrical geometries have been published. Some of these proposals are basedon strongly simplified models assuming a rigid cylindrical core of the spool surrounded by elastically modelled lands deforming under pressure. The geometry of these lands typically assumes an initially perfect cylindrical geometry. The purpose of this paper is to look into the situation when the first assumption is dropped. What if the whole spool is modelled with elastic deformation? This question is answered by a simulation model based on finite element analysis combined with a solution of the Reynolds equation for the pressure in the gap between spool and sleeve.

Period	20 Sept 2023
Event title	International Conference Fluid Power 2023, Maribor, Slovenia, September 20-21, 2023
Event type	Conference
Location	SloveniaShow on map